A familiar name is back in Serie A.

You might have to rub your eyes a little, and perhaps take a moment to ask what year are we in. Edin Dzeko, at a spritely 39 years young, has signed a one-year deal with Fiorentina.

Dzeko, formerly of Roma and Inter Milan, last played in Italy two years ago.

The Bosnian left Inter in the summer of 2023 after he helped them into the final of the Champions League in Istanbul.

His two-year deal with the Nerazzurri had ended, and most expected him see out the remainder of his career in Turkey after eight years in Serie A.

Thirty-one goals across two seasons was a decent return from a player who was comfortably into his mid-thirties.

Dzeko then showed little sign of slowing down with Fenerbahce: 46 goals in just under a century of games was a very good return, but like his time at Roma, Dzeko’s spell in the Bosphorus yielded no silverware.

The Fenerbahce squad Dzeko has since left would have made for a very good team a half a decade ago. Sofyan Amrabat, Fred, Allan Saint-Maximin, Milan Skriniar and Dusan Tadic are names that fans of the major European leagues will know, all past their respective bests, all trying to fight the sands of time.

It was somewhat fitting that Dzeko was the captain of this motley crue of talent. The elder statesman who could be relied on to score goals.

La Viola won a battle with Bologna to secure Dzeko’s services, and the real question now is, why?

Dzeko’s signing could be interpreted as a damning indictment of the state of Italian football, that two teams who qualified for Europe wanted a 39-year-old, even one who kept himself in good shape.

And there is a valid argument to be made. In a month that saw the Azzurri demolished by Norway, the subsequent sacking of Luciano Spalletti and the usual soul-searching that is carried out by pundits and former players in the aftermath of a defeat of that nature, the signing of an ever-ageing Dzeko perhaps was a shining example of Italy’s problems.

It could be argued that Fiorentina should have perhaps signed someone such as Francesco Pio Esposito and given the youngster vital minutes to improve his craft in Serie A next term.

Esposito sparkled on loan at Spezia last season but has returned to Inter. Yet spending most of the season on the bench at San Siro as fourth or fifth choice is hardly in his best interests.

Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca is another who needs to make the step up, and Fiorentina could have been the perfect vehicle for the tall striker. However, it is likely the Zebrette’s price tag, said to be around €30m, would have put owner Rocco Commisso off.

The move for Dzeko will only make sense should Moise Kean remain. Kean produced the best season of his career in 2024-25 with 19 goals in Serie A. The 24-year-old has finally, after years of being a vagabond, found a home in Florence.

Kean has a €52m release clause that is accessible only to foreign clubs and valid for the opening two weeks of July. If he remains, Dzeko will prove an able substitute for Kean under new coach Stefano Pioli.

Kean’s form dipped in the second half of last season as the demands of domestic and European football took its toll. Four league goals in the final three months of the campaign saw Fiorentina stutter near the finish line, but the addition of Dzeko, who has not lost his scoring touch, could help Pioli’s side when the going gets tough.

Moreover, with Fiorentina perpetually in the Europa Conference League, there will be plenty of game time for Dzeko as Pioli rotates his forward line.

An interesting pivot could be playing Dzeko and Kean together. Dzeko has that ability to play as a No 9 or No 10, leading the line or dropping deep and feeding his more mobile strike partner.

The latter is what he did with Lautaro Martinez at Inter and, with Kean much more rapid than the Argentine, Dzeko feeding the Italian could become a regular feature in Serie A next season.

There is also the experience he brings. Commisso, like all Italian owners, is fond of recruiting players with mileage on the clock.

Dzeko joins the likes of Franck Ribery, Borja Valero, Jose Callejon and Salvatore Sirigu as players brought in over the past couple of years to help what is usually one of the youngest sides in the league.

That being said, Dzeko will be the oldest player in the club’s history when he officially pulls on the shirt, surpassing icon Angelo Di Livio.

There is a sense there’s experience, and then there’s going too far.

His arrival is sure to spark debate: is Dzeko denying a younger talent the chance to impress in Florence, or his presence a canny move that could take the pressure off Kean?

Only time will tell.